This invention relates to high impact resistant laminated sheet materials for use as an outer protective shield for the wall structures of airborne vehicles such as missiles.
Airborne vehicles, such as guided missiles and ballistic missiles, can travel at supersonic velocities. During supersonic flight the body of the missile can be damaged by impacts from pebbles and other debris. The missile body also can suffer damage from dust and rain erosion, as well as experiencing the usual aerodynamic heating. Damage from pebbles and other debris can be substantial from sizeable particles traveling at up to ballistic speeds.
It is desirable to form a missile shield as a single composite laminate that can be simply bonded to the exterior of the missile structure for providing the necessary protection.
A variety of materials in the form of protective laminates have been used to protect missile bodies from the aerodynamic heating experienced during missile flight, but these protective materials often do not offer suitable protection against the other hazards described above.
Reasonably low density materials are desirable in a protective laminate to ensure that overall weight and thickness of the protective material is reasonably low, as well as having a reasonable cost.
Thus, there is a need to provide a protective material for missiles in the form of a single composite laminate adapted for bonding to the exterior of the missile structure to protect it from rain and dust erosion and aerodynamic heating, while also protecting against high speed pebble and debris impact damage, without adding unwanted weight or cost to the total missile structure.